What we can gather from the investigations into the Burdwan blast is that an operation of this magnitude could not have been planned without the support of the local establishment.

NIA unravels crucial clues

Let's look at the Murshidabad module now. The National Investigating Agency has found that out of the 58 bomb factories set up by the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh 43 were in Murshidabad alone.

‎The other interesting aspect is that the JMB had links with the Islami Chattra Shibir which not only helped infiltrate into India, but also sent the women members who were specifically appointed to be fidayeen attackers. Interestingly this is the same Islami Chattra Shibir which was directly associated with the Al-Ummah the Tamil Nadu based outfit.

Planned in 2010 ?

Investigations have led to several disclosures and it has been ascertained that they operated in select places in West Bengal and the main unit was in Murshidabad which had become a landing point for these terrorists since the year 2010. The operation was planned in the year 2010 with the help of the Islami Chattar Shibhir and the execution commenced in late 2011. Since then over 180 Bangladeshis have come in as part of this plan, the NIA says.

A key person involved in this operation was a man by the name Anisur who arranged accommodation for all the cadres. He was close to the local leadership which helped him go about his work and he ensured that he got these persons a safe place to hide.

Further the NIA says that the JMB which began planning this operation in 2010 started to pick up houses and also set up businesses which acted as fronts. The case of Shakil is an indicated who ran a garment business in Barua. Under the garb of this business he collected arms and even moved the funds around.

The NIA in a report to the Home Ministry said that the local leader link is very important. further they will also place under the scanner several officers from the Murshidabad Gram Panchayat who have gone on to give documents to over 100 Bangladeshis in the past year, most of them suspected to be part of the JMB. With the help of these documents, they managed to get voter id cards and also passports which helped them in the long run. They were able to move around freely thanks to this.

Madrasas played an important role !

The NIA in its report also states that the large number of Madrasas also played a crucial role. Members of the JMB were not only housed but the same was used to conceal arms and ammunition as well. In some cases agriculture land was purchased at a throw away price and Madrasas were constructed on them, the NIA also points out.

Further the NIA also says that the members of the JMB were initially recruited by a group known as the Islami Chattra Shibir. This raises an eye brow since this is the same group which recruits people for the Al-Ummah based out of Tamil Nadu. This is a key link since we believe that the operatives in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu could be connected.